ISO/IEC and OASIS Collaborate

ISO/IEC and OASIS Collaborate on E-Business Standards

OASIS, the XML interoperability
consortium, today announced it has entered into a liaison relationship
with the International Organization for Standardization
(ISO)/International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) Joint Technical
Committee One on Information Technology. The relationship will allow
representatives from each group to participate in the standards
development work of the other. ISO/IEC JTC1/SC34, the JTC1 subcommittee
for Document Description and Processing Languages, has joined OASIS as a
contributor, and OASIS has become an ISO/IEC Category A Liaison member.

"This is a wonderful opportunity for two organizations with a long
history of commitment to structured data to cooperate," said Dr. James
David Mason, chairman of the ISO/IEC JTC1/SC34. "Mutual participation
between JTC 1 and OASIS will result in synergistic effects. OASIS
already has developed specifications that may be good candidates for JTC
1 standardization. Likewise, there are a number of ways OASIS can
support existing ISO/IEC standards."

As examples of current collaborations, Mason points to RELAX NG, an XML
schema language that was developed at OASIS and is currently under
consideration as an ISO/IEC standard. Conversely, XML Topic Maps, a JTC
1 Standard (ISO/IEC 13250:2000) that provides a model for organizing,
retrieving and navigating information resources, is now being advanced
within OASIS.

"The task of providing interoperable specifications demands cooperation
between the international standards-setting bodies. Broadening our
collaborative relationship with JTC 1 minimizes the risk of divergent
and competitive approaches to standardization and avoids duplication of
efforts and confusion among users," said Karl Best, director of
technical operations at OASIS. "Sharing information, OASIS technical
committees and JTC 1 working groups can promote convergence where
appropriate and advance the interests of the marketplace at-large."

This announcement follows recent news that OASIS has joined in a
Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Electronic Business with ISO, IEC,
the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), and the United Nations
Economic Commission for Europe (UN/ECE). Working together, the groups
plan to increase coordination across many different international
programs for more efficient standards development and more rapid
adoption in the global marketplace.

About OASIS

OASIS (www.oasis-open.org), a not-for-profit, global consortium, drives
the development, convergence and adoption of e-business standards.
Members themselves set the OASIS technical agenda, using a lightweight,
open process expressly designed to promote industry consensus and unite
disparate efforts. OASIS is the home for XML conformance, Web services,
security, business transactions, electronic publishing, topic maps and
other interoperability specifications development.

OASIS has more than 400 corporate and individual members in 100
countries around the world. OASIS and the United Nations jointly sponsor
ebXML, a global framework for e-business data exchange. OASIS operates
XML.org, a community clearinghouse for XML application schemas,
vocabularies and related documents. OASIS also hosts The XML Cover
Pages, an online reference collection for interoperable markup language
standards.

About ISO

Established in 1947, ISO's mission is to promote the development of
standardization and related activities in the world with a view to
facilitating the international exchange of goods and services, and to
developing cooperation in the spheres of intellectual, scientific,
technological and economic activity.

About IEC

Founded in 1906, the IEC is the global organization that prepares and
publishes international standards for all electrical, electronic and
related technologies. Its membership consists of more than 60
participating countries, including all the world's major trading nations
and a growing number of industrializing countries.